Love. Harmony. Perfection. Once, all creation sang the same glorious song.

Dissonance erupted when a once-perfect being abused the freedom given by God. Satan, “the accuser,” chose self-centeredness and slander over truth and love. Satan claimed that God is not just, that He is harsh and authoritarian, depriving others of what they deserve.

Satan’s deception seduced a third of the heavenly angels, whom God cast out of heaven. Satan asserted his dominion over the planet when he deceived his first couple, Adam and Eve, causing them to doubt God’s reliability and love. This first sin distorted the image of God within us, twisting the world upon itself and threatening its self-destruction. The universe awaited God’s response to Satan’s accusations.

The “great controversy” over the character of God, good and evil, continues to rage, but Jesus, the Son of God, answered the main question two thousand years ago when He died for humanity.

What is the strength of God’s love? Jesus’s sacrifice showed that God is even willing to pay the incalculable cost of our sins. His sacrifice revealed the true horror of sin and confirmed that we can trust in God. Why did Jesus’s death make such a difference? Because Jesus lived the perfect life that none of us could attain, and He died the death that we all deserve.

The result: We can live for Him, now and forever. Jesus’s sacrifice reconciles us with a perfect God while transforming our hearts. The Holy Spirit makes us feel our need for God and assures us that we are saved and forgiven. The Spirit writes a new script in our hearts, enabling us to live in freedom, service, and joy. God treats us as if we had never sinned, never doubted, never followed our own way.

This same Jesus who cast out demons during His life declared victory over the powers of evil in His death. Jesus’s resurrection guarantees that death itself will die. Our new life in Jesus frees us from the fear of death and the shame of our past.

As we connect with Jesus, the Holy Spirit soothes our hearts and transforms our outlook. Our spiritual life grows as we communicate with God, meditate on His Word, share our faith, and praise through music and fellowship.

8. THE GREAT CONFLICT

All humanity is currently involved in a vast conflict between Christ and Satan, concerning the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over the universe. This conflict erupted in heaven when a created being, endowed with the freedom to choose, became, through self-exaltation, Satan, God’s enemy, and led a part of the angels in his rebellion. He introduced a spirit of rebellion into this world when he tempted Adam and Eve to sin. This human sin resulted in the alteration of the image of God in humanity, the disturbance of the created world, and its destruction during the universal flood. In the sight of all creation, this world became the theater of the conflict. Christ sends the Holy Spirit and faithful angels to guide, protect, and support it on the path of salvation.

Revelation 12:4-9 / Isaiah 14:12-14 / Ezekiel 28:12-18 / Genesis 3 and 6-8 / Romans 1:18-32; 5:12-21 and 8:18-21 / 2 Peter 3:5-7 / 1 Corinthians 4:9 / Hebrews 1:14

9. LIFE, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

The life of Christ, perfectly submitted to the divine will, His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection are the necessary means that God has provided to free humanity from sin, so that all who, through faith, accept this redemption, obtain eternal life. Henceforth, the entire creation can better understand the holy and infinite love of the Creator. This perfect reconciliation proves the justice of God’s law and the nobility of His character; indeed, it condemns our sin while assuring our forgiveness. The death of Christ has a substitutionary and redemptive value; it is able to reconcile and transform. His resurrection proclaims God’s triumph over the forces of evil, and for those who accept reconciliation, it attests their final victory over sin and death; it demonstrates the lordship of Jesus Christ, before whom every knee will bow in heaven and on earth.

John 3:16 / Isaiah 53 / 1 Peter 2:21,22 / 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4, 20-22 / 2 Corinthians 5:14, 1, 19-21 / Romans 1:4; 3:25; 4:25 and 8:3, 4 / 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 / Colossians 2:15 / Philippians 2:6-11

10. THE EXPERIENCE OF SALVATION

Christ, who knew no sin, God, in His infinite love and mercy, made Him sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we become aware of our need, we acknowledge our condition as sinners, we repent of our transgressions, and we express our faith in Jesus, as Lord and Savior, substitute and example. This faith, by which we receive salvation, comes from the divine power of the Word; it is a gift of the grace of God. Through Christ, we are justified, adopted as sons and daughters of God, and delivered from the dominion of sin. By the Spirit, we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit regenerates our spirits, engraves the law of love in our hearts, and gives us the power to live a holy life. By remaining in Him, we become participants in the divine nature; we have the assurance of salvation, now and on the day of judgment.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 / John 3:3-8, 16 and 16:8 / Galatians 1:4; 3:13, 14, 26 and 4:4-7 / Titus 3:3-7 / 1 Peter 1:23 and 2:21,22 / Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-11; 8:1-4, 14-17; 10:17; 12:2 / Colossians 1:13,14 / Luke 17:5 / Mark 9:23,24 / Ephesians 2:5-10 / Hebrews 8:7-12 / Ezekiel 36:25-27 / 2 Peter 1:3,4

11. GROWING IN CHRIST

The Church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Like the people of God in the old covenant, we are called to come out of the world; we assemble to worship, to fellowship, to be instructed in the Word of God, to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, to help our fellow beings, and to proclaim the Gospel to the entire world. The authority of the Church emanates from Christ, who is the incarnate Word, and from the Bible, which is the written Word. The Church is the family of God; adopted by